The Nightmare
by Jetstream Girge
Summary: Why did Solace kidnap the El Lady? Because he pitied her? Why did he feel that way? Was it the burden she carried? Was it something related to the "truth of the world?" Sometimes, it is a singular event that catalyses a storm. And sometimes, all it takes is just a bad dream...


**Hello readers! It's me again! I picked up a second job and Nexon/KoG's management over Elsword is kinda killing it for me, so writing for it is getting harder and harder. Nevertheless, I will continue to put out pieces for your reading pleasure, such as this!**

 **This is something that bugged me a bit:** **Solace kidnapped the El Lady because he pitied her? And what is this "Truth of the world" he mentions when you beat him _the proper way_? So, I decided to start a new project alongside Boundaries: Elsword Extended, to explain my thought process behind those questions. This would be a compilation of things that happen before or after the canonical events of the game. However, since I do not own Elsword, this would not be canonical in any way. Just me putting my ideas on paper to share.**

 **I hope you enjoy The Nightmare!**

 **Note: Listen to Destiny The Taken King' Harbinger at the *.**

* * *

The quiet that came with the night enveloped Elrios, the comforting rays of Ebalon casting dim light across the land. At the center of it all stood the Tower of El, home of the six El Masters, Rosso, Denif, Gaia, Ventus, Solace and Ebalon. The last was the one who the silver orb in the sky was aptly named after, not the other way around. The tower was also the home of the savior of Elrios, the El Lady.

All was peaceful across the land.

But within the confines of the tower, in its highest and innermost chamber, a young woman was far from that peace. She rolled about in her immaculate bed, tossing the sheets from her slim form, and gripped her pillow tightly. "What... what are you..." she muttered, her eyes shut, yet her orbs were swiveling about behind the lids rapidly in a frenzy. She was dreaming. "What are- No... No, please..."

She rolled onto her back and grabbed fistfuls of her white sheets in each hand before...

"NO!" She sprung from her prone position and her brilliant azure eyes snapped open. She didn't speak another word for several silent moments, her rapid breathing the only sound she dared to make. Gulping down a breath, she brought her delicate hands to her shoulders, embracing herself as though she might fade the moment she let go.

Then came the knocks at her door. The woman let out a startled gasp and hopped slightly, grating the taut bed springs.

"My Lady," came a familiar voice from the other side. "May I come in?"

The woman let out a small sigh, a small attempt to calm herself. "... Yes, Solace."

At her answer, the door creaked open to reveal a tall man with jet-black hair. He was garbed in a white outfit accented with streaks of blue and black, and was adorned with various golden and silver accessories. His glowing, golden eyes flicked over to her shivering form worriedly before scanning the room, likely for intruders.

"Are you alright, My Lady?" he asked as he walked towards her, raising a hand into the air. With a simple gesture an orb of white light appeared in his outstretched hand, illuminating the room. With this new radiance, he stole glances at the once-dark corners of the room.

The woman's gaze settled on the white satin sheets in front of her. "I am fine, Solace. It was just a bad dream," she said. It seemed he had heard her scream, and she felt somewhat guilty for that, considering his nature.

He stopped at the foot of her bed and turned his focus to her. "My Lady, please forgive my bluntness, but you don't scream very much unless there's a rat or spider in your shoe." It was hard to tell if he was poking fun at her or not, but that comment did ease her mind a little.

She stopped shivering for a moment as she pouted slightly. The man, called Solace, smiled lightly at her. "Now tell me, what did you see that made you cry out so?" He sat himself on the bed a respectful distance from her.

"... I..." She hesitated. She really did not want him to know what she saw. She knew that if he saw what she did, he would take it seriously.

Too seriously.

"It was just a silly dream about spiders, Solace. It is nothing to be concerned about," she lied.

And of course he saw right through her. "My Lady, you do not simply dream. You see the flow of the El in your dreams, granting you visions of what may be and what will be." He understood her well, but that was what bothered her. She could not lie to him, and this worried her. "Now, please, what did you see?"

She could not deny him. She could only submit and pray that he would not take things too far. "... I will show you, Solace. Just... "She finally released herself from her grip to fold her hands on her lap. "Remember, it is only a dream. It will likely not come to pass."

His eyes flicked downward for a moment in thought. "... I understand." He slid closer to her until his face was only inches from her own.

"Alright..." She leaned closer to him and took in a deep breath. "... Here we go..." She then tilted her head forward, bringing Solace's and her own forehead into contact.

A sound akin to a chiming bell sounded in her mind as she closed her eyes and allowed Solace's essence to enter her memories. As the blessed Lady of El, she could share her memories with the El Masters by briefly granting them her ability to see the flow of El within her. This allowed them to not only see her memories, but experience them as if they were their own.

But as she felt her charge's spirit enter her mind, she felt uneasy. Half because she feared what she saw, and half because she feared what he would do in answer...

* * *

 ***** Solace felt his spirit being carried away by his Lady's El, a sensation that he took pride in. It was something that only the chosen of the El could experience. To be one of those chosen was among the highest of honors.

But he set it aside for the time being when he felt the space around him warp and distort; her nightmare was taking shape.

Slowly, a vast landscape was forming. It started with the desolate, rocky terrain that extended far into the distance. Then there was the cloud filled, orange sky, not unlike dusk in Elrios. And then...

Nothing. Nothing else.

Solace was baffled. He had never heard his Lady scream like she did just now, so what was so terrifying about this?

He spun around to see if perhaps there was something behind him in this wasteland, but he was once again greeted by the endless scenery.

Was she... lonely? Was that what she screamed about? She had confided in him that her position made her feel detached from the rest of the world, so perhaps this dream foretold a future where she would truly be alone.

Frightening? Surely. Likely? Absolutely not.

Ever since the first disaster, the world had enjoyed stability and peace thanks to his Lady. And for the world to take such a drastic turn would mean she would likely have to be absent. Which means she wouldn't be here to see this.

Just as Solace finished that thought, he felt something behind him. It was faint, like a light breeze on his neck as Ventus would sometimes do to make him jump.

Spinning around he beheld something that was not there before: a towering shadow of flickering darkness.

The dark titan was featureless, but the El Master of Light could make out a pair of massive, wavering wings and what appeared to be a tail whipping around behind it. In its right hand, Solace could see it carried something like a sword, but it was hard to tell. But most apparent was the crown of horns that sat upon its head. It was like the pattern was a part of the being rather than an accessory.

If Solace didn't know any better, he would see this thing as a powerful demon, but there was something... wrong about that classification.

He couldn't really feel any sort of hostility from it. It just stood there, unmoving, but imposing.

Solace narrowed his eyes at this shape. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The figure did not speak. But as if to answer his question, it lifted its free hand into the air and made a gesture that appeared to be grasping something.

At this, Solace felt his blood run cold and the sky became noticeably darker. Cracks began to slowly appear in the ground beneath the figure's feet as it continued its task. Fighting back a shiver, he watched as an orb of shimmering black slowly formed in its hand. Streams of white light were pulled into this dark hole, only to be snuffed out and allow it to grow.

Was it... taking the very light of this place? The sky? The earth?

The El itself?

"What are you!?" he shouted at the figure. He had never encountered something like this before; something that could virtually bend the balance of light and dark with but a gesture.

But it never broke its silence. The giant only continued to draw in light from the endless space until the sphere in its hand threatened to engulf its fingers.

At this, the giant finally made a sound; a simple growl as it crushed the orb in its grasp.

A wave of the deepest black Solace had ever seen exploded from the sphere and rushed across the landscape, turning stone to dust, splitting the sky...

And burning the light. Solace watched in terror as the wave of destruction set alight the light itself before snuffing it out. Nothing remained in the wave's wake, only blackness.

The El Master of Light was then overtaken by something he thought himself above: fear. He never fled before a foe. But his being refused to stand its ground.

So he did something unlike him: he turned and ran.

But he couldn't outrun the hungry darkness. It pursued him with inhuman speed and Solace felt the edges of his uniform being disintegrated only a moment before it consumed him as well.

As the darkness took him, he felt his flesh, his muscles, his bones...

His very spirit being burned away by this ravenous blackness as his very scream was swallowed along with his body. The pain only lasted a moment, but the fear did not subside once the burning stopped.

What awaited him in the abyss was nothing but the most powerful feeling of emptiness; a void that consumed all.

And an endless pit that even the light could not escape...

* * *

With a gasp, Solace snapped his head away from his Lady. Cold sweat beaded on his brow and his Lady did not look that much better.

"... Solace..." she muttered between her deep breaths. "Do you see now? Something like that... cannot exist..." He did not answer, so she continued. "That was no demon... I don't even think it was a living being... or undead for that matter..."

He finally looked into her weary azure eyes. "It was closer to a concept... Something that cannot be touched by mortal hands... And because of that, what we have seen cannot come to pass..." she panted, her small frame shaking with each breath.

To show Solace her dream, she had to relive it. And considering that it terrified her before, it was no surprise that she found herself nearly scared out of her wits again.

But she had to show him; she had to make him see that this was not going to come to pass.

And that fighting it, if it did exist, would be a futile effort...

* * *

Solace's mind swirled in a panic. Never before had he witnessed something so powerful; something so beyond him.

His Lady's words fell on deaf ears, his thoughts spinning in a frenzy. That... thing... how was he supposed to defeat such a thing? Could it even be defeated!?

Maybe if the El Masters engaged it on a united front they could fell it.

No. That thing was capable of bending the very laws of the world. They couldn't take it head on.

Perhaps if they took it by surprise they could defeat it.

No. It was far too powerful. A surprise attack on a being of such power would only serve to annoy it.

War of attrition perhaps?

No. It could just march on their Lady and kill her. They didn't have the luxury of time.

So how... how could he overcome this trial? There has been no obstacle he couldn't surmount. So why now? Was this a test? Or perhaps a natural occurrence.

Whatever it was, it was coming. And it was coming for the El Lady.

He had to - no - he WILL protect her!

His hands found her shoulders and gripped them firmly to ease her shaking. She looked into his eyes questioningly, a small fear in her own.

"My Lady..." he started. "I swear on my life that I will protect you no matter the cost. Should this dream come to pass, I will surpass it. I swear this to you, My Lady."

She didn't answer at first, opting to stare at him with wide eyes. Was she impressed? Perhaps relieved?

Scared?

He couldn't tell. But what she thought of it didn't concern him. He would protect her, no matter the cost.

And that was no lie. He meant every word of it, from the bottom of his hardened heart...

* * *

 **So, what did you think? Good? Terrible? If you have read what I have on The King's Court, you will have an idea of where I am going with the world of Elrios. Hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review so I know what works and what doesn't. Thank you!**

 **Until next time!**


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